What CVA rifle is this?

[Vindane]

I received this rifle long ago in a trade. After it sitting for many years in garages, I'd like to resurrect it and begin shooting it again. Due to the horrible condition of the barrel, the plan is to replace it but I'm not sure if it's a Hawken, Mountain, Frontier, or other. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this for me.

 

[Fishsqueezer]

Not a Mountain Rifle, they have two barrel wedges. I don't believe Frontiers had a patch box. I think you have a Hawken.

 

[CuNosecap]

I agree, Hawken.
Other than some rusted over bluing and being in need of a new drum and nipple, why do you need a new barrel? What does the bore look like?
If the bore is OK, I would fix that drum and reblue. The stock looks to be in way better shape than most that have sat around.

 

[Vindane]

It doesn't matter that it's not stamped with Hawken?

Honestly the bore is the worst part. I figured it would be unsafe to shoot due to pitting, etc.

The original reason it got put up was because of the drum shearing off when a friend of mine was trying to twist off the nipple. So another part of salvaging the barrel would involve drilling that old drum out and hoping the threads survive the process.

 

[edrutecki]

You got nothing to lose. Plug the hole where the drum was. Put a couple ounces of Kroil down the barrel and let it sit for a couple of weeks. Work it with an easy out. Might need a touch of heat and continued soakings with Kroil. It will eventually loosen up and come out if you are patient. Once it is out send it to Bobby Hoyt for a reline. Looks like it will be a very nice gun once you get past the rough patch!

 

[CuNosecap]

Correct. Nothing to lose. Kroil+time and run some Kroil down the rifling with a patch and let it sit (no brushes please!!).
I see rifling at the muzzle. You never know what you'll get till you try.
As to the drum, let 'er soak then there will be a variety of ways to get it out depending on you providing better pictures. A replacement drum and nipple from Track might screw right in or you may need to rethread and go to a larger size. Not that difficult a task.

 

[wganz]

Kroil oil is your friend. Take a nylon brush on a cleaning rod and pour some Kroil oil into the bore. Give it a few passes to get the bore well covered. Keep this handy, you'll need it later.
Get a Red Bull can and cut the top out. Put the breech end into it. Fill to cover the breech end and the drum. Then pour Kroil oil down the barrel and fill it up about 4". Stick it in a corner and leave it. Every week, run that nylon brush in it a couple of times. Don't bother taking the end out the can.

I got a nipple out of an 1842 Springfield Musket barrel that was 'stuck'. Too bad your mongo friend munged the drum because it could have easily come out. After about a 6 week soak, the drum's thread section should be backed out easily.

 

[Eutycus]

I'm sure there are several people here who would gladly "take it off your hands" if you feel like fixing it up would be too much trouble.

 

[dpasek]

It looks like a Hawken to me, judging by the brass nosepiece and thimbles, the shape of the brass trigger guard, and the single barrel wedge. It's definitely not a Mountain Rifle, I have a MR and posted photos in my intro, so you can compare.

For the rusty barrel, I would try cleaning it with Evapo-Rust, just like you would do with a regular cleaning, then rinse and dry it and see what it looks like. I suspect that the Evapo-Rust contains EDTA or something similar, which will dissolve existing rust but will not harm the underlying steel, and it is non-corrosive. This product should work in just the length of time that it takes to do a thorough cleaning by pumping the liquid up and down in the bore. Then you can use a penetrating oil of your choice leaving it to soak, then see about fixing the drum.

I would give the barrel an acid browning treatment with the product sold by Track of the Wolf instead of blueing it. That brown color treatment will cover the surface rust trace pitting better than blue. Look at the photos of my rifle to see what the acid brown color looks like.

 

[Eutycus]

I would definitely go with browning instead of bluing.

 

[Rebel bull]

I can help if your willing to send the gun to me. I well clean the rust from the bore ( the bluing will be striped at the same time ) then make a new bolster and install it the way it was done at the factory. proof it , and send the proofing target along with the gun when i return it. cost varies according to what you want done . I have done many of these with bores worse then yours that were shot the way they were and they have shot better then anybody can hold offhand cloverleaf's at 25 yards and they only get better with shooting

 

[Urban Coyote]

Every time I see a barrel that's been so abused I wonder how many people out there have reduced good muzzleloaders to boat anchors.

 

[dpasek]

Every time I see a barrel that's been so abused I wonder how many people out there have reduced good muzzleloaders to boat anchors.

Some people don't learn appropriate cleaning techniques and neglect this important part of ML maintenance. Even with non-corrosive caps, the sulfur acids formed by burning BP can eventually cause rust. IDK about substitute powders and corrosion, but they still need cleaning to shoot well.

 

[Juice Jaws]

You got nothing to lose. Plug the hole where the drum was. Put a couple ounces of Kroil down the barrel and let it sit for a couple of weeks. Work it with an easy out. Might need a touch of heat and continued soakings with Kroil. It will eventually loosen up and come out if you are patient. Once it is out send it to Bobby Hoyt for a reline. Looks like it will be a very nice gun once you get past the rough patch!

Have no idea what Bobby Hoyt charges but I bet by the time you figure postage both ways and Bobby's price it would be more than the gun is worth.

 

[dpasek]

Oh, BTW... As I recall, CVA barrels are assembled in such a way that the drum thread interlocks with the breech plug to keep it from loosening. If you wind up needing to drill the broken drum thread, be aware of this. I have never had a CVA breech open, so this is not first-hand info.

 

[Vindane]

Thanks for all of your responses! Now that I know that it's a Hawken, I think my best course of action is to replace the barrel. I can pick one up on eBay for $125ish shipped. I would just need to blue or brown it and swap a few pieces (sites, rail under barrel).

In my defense, it became a boat anchor because for all this time I was led to believe that it was a cheap gun and couldn't be fixed or not worth fixing. I'll still try to repair the barrel but I'd like to have a shooter for my son and I quicker than I could accomplish that.

 

[azmntman]

Try this! 8-1 water and molasses (from the fed store, about $6.00ish). Mix well and pour in and let set 3 days then scrub the snot out of it. THIS WORKS. May have to repeat. I have saved some truly unsavable stuff this way, It WILL remove bluing buy you don't care! Give it a shot and see if yu can save it. I am interested in the old barrel if yer gonna trash it too BTW

 

[SDSmlf]

I think my best course of action is to replace the barrel. I can pick one up on eBay for $125ish shipped.

I’ve seen more than one eBay barrel that was nothing more than a sewer pipe because of the bore. Just make sure the bore is good or you will have two barrels needing a rebore.

 

[dpasek]

Try the Evap-o-Rust treatment first and then examine the barrel bore with a borescope. You can get video camera borescopes cheaply that will display the view on your cell phone. Evap-o-Rust works quickly, like in 5 or 10 minutes at room temperature, and does not require scrubbing. Simple patch swabbing should be enough. If you want to try another formula after that, go for it.

 

[Urban Coyote]

Some people don't learn appropriate cleaning techniques and neglect this important part of ML maintenance. Even with non-corrosive caps, the sulfur acids formed by burning BP can eventually cause rust. IDK about substitute powders and corrosion, but they still need cleaning to shoot well.

Yes.

In my experience it takes less time and effort to clean a muzzleloading rifle than it does to properly clean a high power rifle. Granted, a high power rifle doesn't need to be cleaned immediately, nor as often, but removing jacket and powder fouling takes way more time and effort.